


betty

by poetryandtragedy



Category: Louis Partridge - Fandom
Genre: Actor: Louis Partridge, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, British Actor RPF - Freeform, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, England (Country), Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Friends to Lovers, RPF, Sad with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Social Media Fic, Song fic, Song: betty (Taylor Swift), Strangers to Lovers, countryside, countryside love, hollywood actor, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:34:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 8,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27326626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetryandtragedy/pseuds/poetryandtragedy
Summary: ━━━ 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘❛I'm only seventeenI don't know anythingbut I know I miss you❜In which a city boy falls for a country girl but makes a big mistake. It's crazy world, isn't it.
Relationships: Louis Partridge/OC
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	1. PLAYLIST

𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 ; 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

  
  


➪ 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒕

❛𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑚𝑒, 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑑? 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠?❜

  
  
  


➪ 𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒚

❛𝑖 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛' 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑡 '𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔❜

  
  
  


➪ 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔

❛𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛' 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒, 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑦❜

  
  
  


➪ 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒚 𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏

❛𝑖'𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛' 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑖 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖'𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛. 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒❜

  
  
  


➪ 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒓𝒌

❛𝑖'𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒'𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜. 𝑚𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑖𝑛'𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑢𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠❜


	2. ACT ONE; PART ONE

Summer had made its way to the never-ending fields of the British countryside. The verdant meadows made it seem almost heavenly as the fresh air and hills of emerald green that went farther than the eye could see framed a perfect picturesque from my room window. 

I’d been braced with this view a hundred times before yet it never failed to bring me to a sense of tranquility. I took a deep breath in, as if to somehow absorb the beauty laid before me. Here, in my family home that had stood firmly longer than anyone could remember, I had lived ever since the passing of my parents with my aunt, uncle and two younger brothers. 

Outside, in the large, plain fields that surrounded my house, my eye caught the sight of my brothers, Aiden and Austen, both at just eight years of age. A slight laugh escaped my lips as I witnessed them playing carelessly amongst the birds and butterflies under the bright rays of the sun as they did almost everyday. 

The view, however, didn't last long as I heard a buzz from her bedside table. I picked up my teal-colored phone case to read the text that had just been sent to her.

**Joaquin:** mind if i come over for lunch today?

**Joaquin** : smthg kinda happened at home

Joaquin was my best friend and it was safe to say that his home life was...complicated. I knew better than to question it. 

**Betty** : sure, I’ll tell my aunt that you’ll be joining.

**Joaquin** : thx

**Joaquin** : sooo, what's up at your place

**Betty** : the same old, aiden and austin worrying the shit outta my aunt by not returning from their ‘adventures’ by sundown, playing their stupid pranks, and ‘running away to neverland’

**Joaquin** : i can picture her reaction lol

**Betty** : ‘I swear these kids are gonna make my old heart drop outta my chest one of these days AIDEN AND AUSTEN YOU TWO ARE EITHER GETTING BACK IN HERE OR STAYING THE NIGHT OUT’

**Joaquin** : lmao XD

There was a short pause after that, though a smile crept up on my lips as I was sure it had on his too. As much as old-fashioned and sometimes even annoying my aunt was, she had raised me and my siblings almost our entire lives as her own. She was like my second mother, and frankly, was more of a mother to Joaquin that his own, but maybe more on that later. 

**Betty** : show up for lunch in 40, k?

**Joaquin** : yesss ma’am

I closed my phone and exited my room to head down the old, slightly rusted yet beautiful, golden-brown stairs to the kitchen where my aunt was.

The sweet smell of cherries entered my nose and suddenly I was all the more hungrier. Peering closer I realised the fact that a mouth-watering cherry pie was in the making. The kitchen was messy with flour from the pie crust and a few cherries scattered here and there covering the originally grey countertop in white and red . The atmosphere couldn’t smell more wholesome than it already was. 

I quickly dipped my index finger in the red filling and licked it before my aunt could shoo the hand away. She didn’t bother lecturing me about it so I figured she was in a particularly good mood today. I took another dip in the filling, It was delicious, as usual. 

“Mhmm” I acknowledged the red filling in my mouth as I propped myself onto the cleaner side of the countertop. “Joaquin’s coming over for lunch in a while, is it okay?”

Still engrossed in her baking, she replied “It’s no trouble at all. The more the merrier.”

“Wait, is someone else coming?”

“Oh, did I not tell you? My bad,” she said clearly with too much on her mind as she wiped her forehead causing some of the flour to stick on there. “An old friend of mine is returning here for the summer with her kids. They’re both your age, you should get along well.”

I hummed in response. “When are they coming?”

“Their plane ride from London landed a while ago, so they should be here by lunch.”

_ London,  _ wow. People didn’t usually come all the way from somewhere as big as London to the small countryside I lived in. I mean, what if they’re all really posh and snobby and rich? Well, I hope they’re not, or this would turn out to be quite an interesting event rather than a simple lunch. 

My phone buzzed again, picking it up, I headed from the kitchen to the living room where I made myself comfortable on the nearest couch. It was a notification from Instagram. Joaquin sent me a post from the ‘Wisteria High Confession page’. Exactly like It’s name, It was an Instagram page where everyone from our high school submitted their (mostly false) confessions to give them at least some form of excitement for what really was there to do here other than to stare into oblivion surrounded by trees and flowers. Sure, that idea sounded appealing but I can tell you from personal experience that after a year or two, It all gets pretty boring. 

Even though the person who ran the blog was ‘anonymous’ everyone knew who she was. Inez Dallas. Who else better to get your scoop of high school gossip than from Inez. She was practically the sourcepoint of every rumor that had ever been going around the school ever since the beginning of time. We all knew better than to trust every word that spilled out of her mouth but we still begged her for juicy rumors, at least everyone else did. 

I tried your best not to read the post in the ‘gossip girl’ narration voice as I read it in my head. “An anonymous classmate has informed us that perhaps this summer is going to be more interesting than we thought, for we have a new fish in our pond to play with. Make that two!”

No doubt, this was referring to the family that my aunt was talking about. Her friend. I swiped my finger to the next photo of that post. 

Oh wow.  _ Wow. _ It was a photo of the two new kids. A sister and a brother who looked around the same age. I’d be lying If I said that they both weren't utterly gorgeous but like, they had good genes. _ Really  _ good genes. They’d been here for barely a day and Inez had already hunted for their instagrams but what else did you expect from her? @louispartridge_ she tagged. It made sense now as to why this was important enough to post, two new good looking people had come here from London of all places, people want drama. 

This is sure going to be interesting. 


	3. ACT ONE; PART TWO

_ This is sure going to be interesting.  _

It wasn’t long after when I heard the doorbell ring. 

“I’ll get it!” I yelled as I got off the couch. I straightened out my clothes, a pastel pink tee paired with denim jeans and opened our front door. It wasn’t my aunt Abigail’s friend, Julia, as I had come to know, with her kids but instead Joaquin.

“Hey,” I hugged him and let him in. Joaquin had spent so much time in this house that it had become partially his, so there was no need for any formal welcoming. He greeted my aunt and the two of us helped her set up the table as I told him that we’d have company. As we did so, the slightly livid bruise marks on his arm and left cheek didn’t go unnoticed. I knew aunt Abigail noticed them too, but thankfully didn’t address them. 

Like I said before, Joaquin’s home life was kind of complicated. He didn’t like talking about it, but I’m sure the only person he’d ever confided about it was me. I remembered our conversation that night perfectly. 

It was a few days after Halloween, and Joaquin had texted me if I was free sometime before midnight. He knew well that me, being a night owl, would definitely be awake then. Over the phone, I could tell that he was hesitant about whatever it was that he had to tell me. 

I couldn’t dwell on the fact any longer though, because the doorbell had rung once again. This time my aunt headed to open it up and I took that time to stop brothers from stretching their arms on to the table and getting a taste of the food. As I lightly scolded them and asked them to behave, I noticed Joaquin grinning. I mean, it  _ was  _ my habit to do the same but at least I knew how to act in front of visitors. 

And then they came. Julia, Issie, and that must be Louis. 

Inez wasn’t wrong. They were, dare I say, a good looking family. In an attempt to not be awkward for longer than I already had, I extended my arm to their mother with the brightest smile I could muster up. “Hello, Mrs Partridge, nice to meet you.”

Aunt Abigail introduced Joaquin as a friend of mine and I headed on to greet Issie and Louis. Unfortunately for me, I was way too awkward in socializing with people my age. I mean, I’m more comfortable with them If we’ve known each other for a while, but It was safe to say that my first meeting with the Partridge siblings was nothing less than gauche. Thankfully, though, they didn’t seem to mind. 

Aunt Abigail did the talking for the most part, Julia and her conversed like the good old friends they were. My brothers were off doing their own thing and Issie talked with me too and I quite liked her, she talked, but not enough to be irritating. She seemed to have a great sense in fashion too. Louis, however, didn't seem to engaged in our conversations. He’d occasionally check his phone, told my aunt that the pie she made was delicious, and run his fingers through his hair. 

But other than that, he remained silent. 

“I'm so glad I’m back here.” said Mrs Partridge looking around the table and then directly towards Issie and Louis. “I can’t wait for the two of you to get to know the countryside more. It’ll do you both more good than you might think.”

Aunt Abigail chimed in too. “Yes of course it will. And I’m sure Betty here would love to show them around.”

Would I? Perhaps not then. I nodded in agreement.

“I heard they have one of the most beautiful lakes here .” Issie said in her perfectly identifiable London accent.

“Windermere Lake is our specialty.” I said with a prideful smile.

This made Louis finally look up. As he did, a strand of his hair fell over his forehead.  _ Damn _

“You know what,” Aunt Abigail announced. “Why don’t you all visit it. Issie wants to go, and It’s the summer so what better time!”

Aunt Abigail and Mrs Partridge said they'll figure out the tickets all. Everyone seemed to be excited for it, so It was planned. Day after tomorrow, on Saturday, the four of us will go to Windermere lake for the day. 

This was going to be  ~~ interesting ~~ exciting. 


	4. ACT ONE; PART THREE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! I just wanna say that the pictures for this chapter weren't able to be uploaded onto ao3. This is a social media chapter so fear not, there's not a lot you're going to be missing out on but if u wanna read it, this is cross posted on Wattpad under the name BETTY. 
> 
> xx,  
> aliza

@heyitsbetty

  
[Picture Not Available]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐲.

Tags: @louispartridge_ @joaquin_alvaraz @issiepartridge

Liked by joaquin_alvaraz issiepartridge and 394 more

@jamie_idk prettyyy

@inezswift_ making new friends I see

↳ @heyitsbetty why not 😊

@rebecca241 😍😍😍

@angela_brown I wanna go there! 

↳ @selena_9292 me too! 

↳ @heyitsbetty Selena u hate the outdoors. 

↳ @selena_9292 well... 

↳@angela_brown lmao 😂

@ashleyclark12 we stan a tswift Stan 😌

  
  
  
  


@issiepartridge 

[Picture Not Available]

Had the greatest time out here with u guys! 

Tags : @louispartridge_ @heyitsbetty @joaquin_alvaraz 

Liked by heyitsbetty louispartridge_ and 925 more

@heather_13 ok but this is so pretty 

@ryder123_ london misses u already! 

@ashleyclark12 slayyy

@ophelia_martin queens 😍

@kyla_leighton99 miss u!! 

  
  



	5. ACT ONE; PART FOUR

Would it be an exaggeration if I said that our trip to Windermere lake was perfect? Well, minus the fact that I may have smudged a bit of ice-cream on my clothes as I bumped into Louis, It’s up to you to decide. And Joaquin just  _ had _ to record it. 

Was it awkward, kinda. Was it embarrassing, very much so. But did I find myself slightly melting with giddiness inside when I heard Louis apologising in that goddamn London accent of his when it was definitely my fault? Well….

Regardless, It was a great trip and I had great fun. So much, in fact, that Issie and Louis asked me and Joaquin if we wanted to hang out the next day as well. We agreed and so here I was, on their doorstep as the sun disappeared into the horizon. 

Joaquin said that he’ll meet up with us later at the edge of the woods where we both used to meet when we were kids. It wasn’t anything special but we’d made it our own. There was a small river beside it and I perfectly remember the feeling of running my hand through the fast flowing water at nights when I felt down. There was just a sense of tranquility there. 

I rang the bell to have Mrs Partridge open it up. 

“Betty, darling, hello. How are you.” she said as she let me in.

I smiled and replied “I’m good, what about you.” 

“Great as ever.” she said and I sat down on the nearest couch. “The kids’ll be down soon, I don’t know what’s taking them so long.”

I randomly looked around their living room while Mrs Partridge headed upstairs to call the two of them down. They’d recently moved in, so there were still some cardboard boxes lying around. I looked at the few pictures that were hung up on the walls and placed on the tables. 

They were all mostly family or baby pictures but there was one that caught my eye. It was Louis’. It didn’t look too old, but it was him in what seemed to be a movie set in costume. 

Was he an actor? He never mentioned it. 

As if on cue, Louis came down the stairs in quite a hurry.

“Hi, um, sorry to keep you waiting.” His voice was quite huffed and his hair was messy. The hot kind of messy.  _ Don’t stare. Don’t stare.  _ “Issie’s still doing her hair.”

“Oh no, It’s completely okay.” I said trying to be casual. 

He sat down on the seat right in front of me. 

_ Oh God _

I tried not to think about how effortlessly good-looking he was. Wait, when did I even start thinking about that? I mean, he was attractive but was he attractive to me?

Oh fuck it, he was. Okay, he  _ really _ was. 

We were silent for a while. I expected it to be awkward but somehow it wasn’t. I looked back over to the picture on the wall. Louis on set, apparently. 

He must’ve noticed me looking when he answered my unasked question. “I act.” I looked towards him. “I’m an actor, back in London.”

Well then my assumption was right. “Wow.” I tried to start a conversation. “Since when have you been acting.?”

“A couple years. I, uh, actually got a new movie role recently, but shooting doesn’t start until the end of summer.”

Interesting. “Oh, what’s it called.”

“Enola Holmes. I’m going to play the viscount Tewksbury and Enola will be played by Millie Bobby Brown.”

What.  _ Millie Bobby Brown. _ He looked at me with an expression which basically said he expected that reaction. 

He smiled, Oh god, his smile. “I know.”

“Millie Bobby Brown, as in  _ the _ Mille Bobby Brown.” I asked in disbelief. 

His grin stretched wider. 

“Oh my gosh, That’s amazing!”

His face flushed. “Yeah, everyone’s quite excited.”

My smile mirrored his. “Louis, you’re gonna be famous!”

He shrugged, still smiling. “I mean, if the movie does well.”

“Which I’m sure it will.”

“I hope so.” and in that moment when his eyes looked at mine, I froze. There was a gleam in them. One I couldn’t describe other than being hopeful. This movie, and however it would turn out, meant a lot to him. 

I may have looked at them a second too long but when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, I couldn’t decide whether it was a relief or I wanted to talk to him a bit more. 

But I didn’t have a choice, did I? We both got up to leave as Issie entered the room, apologizing profusely for her tardiness. So It really is an English thing, being overly polite. 

We headed to ‘our place’ where Joaquin had already arrived. It wasn’t anything as special as Windermere but beautiful in it’s own right. 

Issie gasped in awe. “Oh, It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. I looked over at Louis who had the same expression as his sister. 

Joaquin showed them around. The old tree where I used to hide years ago, and the rope hanging from the branch where he attached an old tire to swing off of. 

“Oh my gosh! Let’s do that.” Issie said, referring to the tire swing. 

Joaquin perked up to the idea but apparently I was the only one who acknowledged the fact that not only was it almost night time but we’d be soaking wet on our way home. 

I protested but with Louis’ vote to proceed with the bad idea, well, majority won. 

I sighed, this was  _ definitely _ a bad idea. 


	6. ACT ONE; PART FIVE

Joaquin was the first one to try the tire swing, mainly just to prove to me that we won’t die. I mean, I guess we won’t  _ die  _ but all of us are definitely going to face the consequences of having to walk back home soaking wet at night. 

He swung himself steadily and eventually let go, causing a loud splash from the river. After a moment or two, his head popped up with an expression of utter thrill and fun as he swam back to land. 

“Did I die?” he asked me mockingly. 

I rolled my eyes and muttered. “No.”

“So you won’t either.” 

Then it was Louis’ turn and it went fairly well. I handed him a towel which he took gratefully. 

He looked at me and said “Now, your turn.” and dragged me to the swing. 

I hesitantly sat down as he took the courtesy to swing me. I tried not to blush.

Knowing that I didn’t really have a choice, I jumped into the body of water in front of me. Whilst in the air, for the mere seconds those were, I felt an adrenaline rush. Never had I done anything like this and the feeling of thrill was new to me, you could say I liked it. 

But that all went away as I hit the water. I was never really a fan of being submerged under cold water, especially at night. I was more of the type to gently run my hand through the stream or even dip my feet in, but not in being completely in it. So my landing wasn’t all that fun, as Joaquin’s had been. 

I tried my best to swim out of the cold water immediately but Joaquin’s laughter didn’t help. At least he got a towel for me. I wrapped the material around me, clinging on to it for warmth as it was Issie’s turn. 

Joaquin prepped her up and I saw Louis edge closer to me from the corner of my eye. 

“Not a fan of the cold?” he said, still looking forward as not directly at me.

“No,” I replied. “Not really.”

“Neither am I.”

I looked at him. “Then why did you vote yes?”

He shrugged. “Thought It’d be fun.”

“Then your definition of fun is way different than mine.”

“Yeah?” He looked at me as well. “What’s your definition of fun?”

I took a moment to think. “An evening playing the piano, I guess, or learning it actually. Perhaps climbing trees. I’ve gotten quite proficient at that these past few months.”

He smiled. “You want to play the piano?” I nodded slightly. “I could teach you, you know. I’ve been playing for a while now.”

“Really?” I lightened up. I’ve always wanted to play the piano. Maybe I could not completely suck at it anymore. 

“Yeah, you know what, why don’t you come over later. Next thing you know, you’ll be the new Ludwig Van Beethoven.”

“Do you expect me to know who that is?”

He chuckled. “I guess not then.”

We were interrupted by Issie’s shriek as she jumped into the water with a loud splash. I couldn’t help a giggle for when she realised how cold the water actually was, but came out of it laughing anyway. 

As I had predicted, everyone had started craving warmth moments later so we decided to head home. But it was the walk back that proved to be the most amusing to me. 

Joaquin, who was sure he couldn’t be cold, was now clinging on to his small towel as if it were his life. Although it was summer, the nights here still got pretty cold. 

As for me, who knew that I’d be freezing my ass off, didn’t really have a choice other than try to huddle with the rest of them for some heat. 

Louis apparently noticed this. “C’mere.” he said to me and wrapped part of his towel around me. I was glad that it was kinda dark so he couldn’t see me blush but Joaquin surely had and winked at me. 

I rolled my eyes at Joaquin but smiled realizing I was much warmer huddled next to Louis. And we walked the way back in silence, comfortable silence. 

It was a nice feeling, hearing the rhythm of his heartbeat as we walked. I found myself blushing more than usual when he made sure I stayed warm, and even more so when Issie kept giving me a thumbs up. 

Finally, we gave each other a hug and parted ways. 

That night. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, for some reason I kept replaying the evening in my head. I’d never really felt something like that before, it was hard to put into words. I looked forward to tomorrow. This summer was going to be fun.


	7. ACT ONE; PART SIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lil texting chapter to make things more interesting :)

**3:24 pm**

  
  


**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** so, u and louis had lots of fun yesterday

**You :** oh stop it. We didn't do anything

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** please! The way u looked at him told a different story

**You :** and since when have u become a body language expert??

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** always have been baby

**You :** and either way it was ur idea. 

**You :** and i got a fucking cold cuz of u

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** don’t pretend like u didn’t enjoy it betts

**You :** and how’d u know if I did?

**♥️Joaquin** **♥️** **:** I’d say body language but then you’d come @ me

**You :** ur not wrong :))

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** so imma go with the fact that he’s offering u piano lessons?

**You :** well he offered

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** oooooooh

**You** : stoppppp

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** ur blushing

**You** : am not!

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** oh c’mon I can tell from here

**You** : am not!

♥️  **Joaquin** ♥️: u can’t lie to me betts

**You** : Shut up

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** so that’s ur way of admitting defeat

**You** : NO ITS NOT 

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** u keep denying it but don’t forget i saw u blush we wrapped his towel around u

**You** : and what exactly are you trying to prove here?

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** as ur designated best friend its my job to tell u

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** ASK HIM OUT

**You** : WHAT

**You** : NO

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** oh cmon, its a mutual attraction

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** he’ll ask u out then soon

**You** : no, he wont

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** are u telling me u didn’t anything, absolutely NOTHING yesterday

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** and come clean

**You** : damn you joaquin

**You** : okay maybe

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** AHA

**You** : I hope you know I'm rolling my eyes at u rn

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** oh im aware :))

**You** : I hate u

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** love u too

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️:** gotta go bye

**You** : k, byee


	8. ACT ONE; PART SEVEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> welp, I really struggled with this chapter, guess who's on writers block! ugh i hate this and trust me, i really tried to make this longer and better but my brain has given up and on top of that its exam season for me so rip my brain. please bear with me, im so sorry for this shitty chapter :((

If anything goes wrong, I’m blaming this on Joaquin.

He encouraged this so If I end up making a fool out of myself, he better be ready for my 2 am, 3 hour long rants. 

I sighed as I clutched my phone in my hands. Okay, so maybe Joaquin was right, I may or may not want to ask Louis out. But who can blame me? 

And honestly, I wasn’t even going to until Joaquin told me to. Nevertheless, I sat in my bed with my phone in my hands, clearly overthinking it all.

I contemplated not doing it at all, trust me. But I really wanted to. I was conflicted. 

After successfully wasting about half my time, I did it. I called him. 

“Hello,”

“Hey, um, It’s me. Betty.”

“Oh hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing much. What are you doing right now?”

“Just unpacking a bit.”

“Oh, well, I hope I'm not interrupting you.”

“No, no, of course not.”

“That’s great. Um, I was wondering, what are you doing this weekend.”

“This weekend? Not really anything, why?”

“If you weren’t doing anything, I just hoped you’d be free for a stroll around town.”

“Yeah sure”

“To like, familiarize you and all. If you’re up for it.”

“Yeah of course. This weekend?”

“Yeah, Saturday.”

“Sure, just text me what time, I’ll be at your house.”

“Okay, yeah, I’ll do that.”

“See you then.”

“You too, bye”

“Bye”

So that happened. Okay, I may have not actually asked him to go out with me. Well, In my defense, I don’t even know if he’s single. I mean, odds are he is. But nevertheless, I did something other than just procrastinate. 


	9. ACT ONE; PART EIGHT

It was Saturday and I was patiently waiting for Louis at my house. Okay, scratch that, more like very restlessly. I’d agreed to take him all around town and after what Joaquin said to me, I guess it’s true. I like him, like really really like him. And I really didn’t want to mess this up.

I found myself re-doing my hair multiple times, checking my outfit again and again and spraying on some extra perfume half an hour before the time we’d scheduled. I looked at the clock and sighed.

To avoid overthinking all of it, I decided it would be best for me to distract myself. So, I went outside to the field surrounding our house to where Aiden and Austin, my brothers always were. 

And today, with no surprise whatsoever, they, with their happily carefree eight year old smiles, were there.

I sat under the tree which they were running around in, and the two of them sat beside me. They had dirty-blonde hair like mine, but mostly dirty with sand since they were always playing in it. Which, by the way, drove our aunt out of her mind, she was a clean freak.

They had blue eyes, unlike mine, which I assumed they got from our father. I, on the other hand, had brown ones, from my mother. 

It always struck me as sad that neither of my two baby-toothed brothers ever got to know either of their parents. Our father died just weeks before they were born and my mother during childbirth. I remembered them, though vaguely.

“Where are you going?” asked Austin while twirling something in his hand, it was a lilac flower. Aunt Abigail loved flowers, and she taught us all about them, where each could be found, what they meant, if you could eat them or not. 

I smiled at the Lilac in my little brother’s hands, symbolizing childhood and innocence. 

I answered. “You remember Louis?,” he nodded his head. “I’m showing him around town.”

“Oh, like a date?” asked Aiden, furring his eyebrows in a way so cute that I wanted to pinch his cheeks.

I flushed at his comment. “No, not like a date.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Of course!” Well… 

We were quiet for a while, comfortably quiet. 

“Do you wanna play tag?” Asked Aiden. 

It had been a while since I’d played with them, so i figured why not?

And for the remaining time, the field was filled with laughter and shrieking and I felt a warmth in my heart that I hadn’t felt in some time now. 

Unfortunately for me, I seemed to have done too good of a job at keeping myself distracted for the next thing I knew was Austin pointing to our house sayong “Betty, look!”

It was Louis. I looked at myself, my hair a mess, and my clothes with specks of sand here and there.

He came up to us laughing. “Having some quality family time, I see.” 

I flushed once again. 

“Your aunt let me in,” he explained. “Said, you’d probably be here.”

“Are you here to take Betty on a date?” Aiden asked. 

_ What!?  _ I may have involuntarily gasped and probably turned into a deeper shade of red than my aunt’s cherry filling. I glared at my little brother as he smiled cheekily and Louis laughed. 

Louis bent down and ruffled Austin’s hair. “I am, actually.”

I’m sorry, what?

I could hear Aiden’s ‘oohs’ from behind me, but I stared in disbelief for a second.  _ He is _

“Well, I suppose it’s best if you get going then. Betty can’t wait.”

I took a mental note to have a very stern talk with my brothers after this.

“I suppose we should.” replied Louis

So we headed out, and neither one of us could stop smiling.


	10. ACT ONE; PART NINE

As we walked outside of my house, waving my aunt goodbye, my mind still tugged on to Louis’ words. 

_ “I am, actually.” _

So was this a date then? I wanted to ask, but didn’t know how.

We walked down the school lane, but it was understandably a bit empty since it was summer. The sun hadn’t yet got too low, but wasn’t shining either, just enough to compliment Louis’ eyes, which I had only noticed the beauty of now.

His hazel eyes which ever so lightly warmly radiated a brown sun. I admit, I may have been caught off guard but he didn’t notice, or at least pretended not to for my sake.

I reminded myself that I was here to show Louis around, not to fall for him more than I already had. Not like I have a chance anyway.

Regaining my composure and putting on a smile, I clapped my hands together “So, d’you wanna check out the fro-yo shop a couple blocks down, or-”

“How ‘bout the creek?” Louis interrupted. “Let’s go to the creek like last week.”

“Uh sure!” I replied, not exactly sure why he’d want to go there when we had the entire town to explore. Nevertheless, I led the way.

The walk there was short and no sooner were we braced with the view once more. I smiled, it always gave a sense of tranquility, a sense of belonging. And I assume Louis knew that because of the look that he gave me. 

He knew how much this place meant to me, and I almost melted inside, piecing the pieces together to understand that he came here because of me. 

He walked a couple steps, bent down and picked up a flower. He held it up as if it were something regal and smiled, “A lily.” 

I let out a light chuckle. “Yes, I can see that.” to which he shrugged. 

“I’m not that good at flowers but..” trailing off, he gave it to me. 

I gratefully took it and his hands brushed over mine, I was once again sure that my cheeks had turned rosy. 

We both turned around, admiring the chirping birds and the sound of the steam flowing.

I sat on the tire swing, lightly swinging it as he leaned on the tree. 

We stayed in silence for a minute or two, comfortable silence. 

“Remember that movie I was talking about?” he said looking over at the horizon. “The one in which I got the role; Enola Holmes?”

I nodded my head, then realising that he wasn’t looking in my direction. “Yeah.” I said softly

“They’ve called us to London. Filming’s gonna begin.”

“Oh.” I don't know what to say. Was he going to  _ leave?  _ But hadn’t he said until the end of summer. Surely, there must be a way for him to stay here longer.

I didn’t want him to go, not yet. He’d only been here merely two weeks. We’d just become friends and couldn’t just  _ leave _ . I needed him to stay

“I haven’t told Issie yet.” he filled in the silence. “She’s been having so much fun. And my mum’s grown her heart here. I just- I’m not sure what to do.” 

He looked at me briefly and then back to the horizon. For a moment he seemed hopeless.

_ Don’t go. Stay here. Stay with us, with me. _

I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t. No, not after the way he talked to me about the movie before. He wanted the job, he really did, and I didn’t want to take that away from him. Nobody should have to take that away from him. 

We were silent once more, but it wasn’t light. The air between us had tensed, I could feel it. I knew he was thinking the same thing.

I didn’t want to keep him from whatever awaited him in London, in Hollywood, and even as an actor. But I didn’t want him to leave.

He can’t just leave, but he can’t stay either. 

But the universe doesn’t work at our will.

I took a moment to consider it, he was going to leave wasn’t he? And to think that I used to believe we had a chance. 

I guess I never did, he was going to leave eventually at the end of the summer. But it just feels like everything was cut short. Like we should have had more time together. Like, we could’ve been something. 

I had to face it straight on at that moment. Louis was going to leave and be a famous movie star and whatnot, and I’ll stay in the little town of Wisteria as someone he used to know. 

Just someone he used to know.


	11. ACT ONE; PART TEN

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so we've reached the end of the first half of story, tysm for everyone who's been reading!

It took me some time to properly come up with how I felt, because for the most of it, I wasn’t sure.

Louis was going to leave next week, it was for sure now, and I could either have it go in a blur or make it last. 

We could either be a memory, or we could make memories. 

And I decided I wasn’t going to spend my time lamenting on our limited time together. 

We had but one week together, and I wasn’t going to let it slip away.

Bowling, swimming, shopping, you name it. Me, Louis, Joaquin and Issie were going to do it all this week, it was now or never..

The next morning, I woke up with a mental list of everywhere we’d go everything we’d do together. Once they’d leave, at least I’ll have certain places to associate certain memories with them.

And then he wouldn’t just be someone I used to know, and that was all that mattered right? I couldn’t stay wanting to change a decision already made.

And I’m pretty sure no week would ever top to be more memorable than that, but it was the last day that stuck out to me

We all went bowling, I went shopping with Issie, and as the sun began to set, I decided to take them to a certain very special tree not too far away from my house.

Honestly, I’d never shown anyone it to anyone maybe except Joaquin because I thought It’d be stupid. It was just a tree, but it meant something to me. We were sharing everything important to each other right?

It would be a little hike, but I assume that’d be fun.

“Creeks and trees,” Issie said huffing as we walked through the field, “You really are nature people.” Apparently she wasn’t much of an outdoor person, I giggled lightly at her remark.

“Just a bit more, Issie.” I said, “we’re not going into the woods or anything.”

“You know what,” she stopped, looking sideways towards the stream and rocks surrounding it. ”Sitting right there seems pretty inviting right now.”

Joaquin added on, “Yeah, I don’t think I have it in me to walk till there.”

I nearly laughed. Joaquin was the most athletic person I knew, he was either trying to give Issie some company, or they had a plan made up. I wasn’t sure what it was, perhaps both.

“How ‘bout you guys go ahead, we’ll meet once you get back and then we’ll walk back home together.” Issie had said.

“Sure,” Louis answered. “We’ll meet you in a bit.”

I eyed them suspiciously, but nevertheless, me and Louis continued walking until we finally reached.

“This was the tree I used to climb with my father when I was younger.” I said, indicating to the big old sturdy oak tree. 

He smiled at it mischievously, and I raised an eyebrow.

Louis decided that we’d climb it together too, so It was special for more than one. Me, who hadn’t climbed a tree since I was eight, protested but perhaps he was right about me wanting to do it ever since.

After a failed try ot two, we made it to the top. Not without a scarred arm, I may add, courtesy to a sharp edge.

“It’s beautiful.” Louis remarked and then turned his head towards me. 

I could sense he wanted to say something, but for some reason didn’t. 

As he leaned towards me, I put two and two together, and smiled. And our lips met, and world’s collided.

It was hard to describe, like honey and warm milk, or like clouds somewhere far away from here. But maybe I didn’t need to describe it, it was that, and that was something.

I sighed as we pulled apart, and rested my head on his shoulder, in both happiness and nostalgia, and so did Louis. It was weird nostalgia if I’m being completely honest. Not for something long gone, but for something, someone instead, who was right here but would be gone when the sun would rise tomorrow. 

This time we both stared into the horizon.

And in that moment, as the two of us sat on top of the familiar branches from my childhood, looking over at the sun setting below the horizon from behind my house, it all seemed okay.

It was okay.


	12. ACT TWO; PART ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in text format !

**wisteria high <3**

**244 participants**

  
  


@inezswift guess we’re going back to school. See you in hell losers

@selena_9292 ugh did u have to remind us!

↳ @inezswift yes.

@sarahquill did you guys hear about what happened to betty and her summer fling?

↳ @heyitsbetty it was NOT a summer fling

↳ @joaquin_alvaraz and who gives you the right to talk about it ?? 

↳ @inezswift woah cool down lover boy @joaquin_alvaraz

@rebeca241 wait, louis is still in this gc right ?

↳ @sarahquill yeah I guess

@ophelia_martin what even happened between them?

↳ @angela_brown he broke up with her bcoz he was leaving to London

↳ @heather13 apparently they were just a summer thing

@joaquin_alvaraz ok u guys need to stop. Louis did not break up with betty, they've worked out long distance relationship thing

↳ @inezswift please! Like that's gonna work out

↳ @sarahquill plus, they're loads of pretty girls he could choose from in London, why settle for a country girl so far away? 

↳ @joaquin_alvaraz he settled for betty. he chose her because unlike the rest of the goddamn female teenage population of this town, she actually cared for him. and she chose him because he saw that.

@amyleigh_ don't go off at us, we're just amused spectators. 

↳ @joaquin_alvaraz amused at what ?

↳ @amyleigh_ to see how oblivious betty as been ofc ! 

@heyitsbetty what is it to u guys anyway! we are what we are and u don't need to know shit about it, and if you're so curious, no we didn't break up and are still on good terms. 

@heyitsbetty wait, oblivious to what ?

@heyitsbetty someone explain ? why is no one replying

↳ @joaquin_alvaraz speak up ppl

@inezswift well, we didn't want to say it , but you insisted.

↳ @heyitsbetty oh just say it already

↳ @inezswift louis isn't all that perfect as you think…

↳ @heyitsbetty wtf ? 

@sarahquill fine I'll say it since no one has the balls to. louis has been cheating on you.


	13. ACT TWO; PART TWO

_ louis has been cheating on you _

What? 

For a moment—or perhaps longer than that, I wasn’t really paying attention—there was silence in the groupchat. 

Honestly, I let out a little laugh when she wrote that. Louis cheating? Of Course not! He was definitely not that type of person, I mean, he struck me as one. But as the silence grew longer, anxiousness crept over me. Even Joaquin didn’t reply, which was odd since normally he’d be the first one to come to my defense. 

I, on the other hand, couldn’t think of a response.  _ No.  _ Well, of course not. He would never. Instead, I didn’t reply at all. Waiting for them to add context to the statement made me feel agonizingly vulnerable. 

I didn’t want to think of the possibility of it being true—we were so happy, i was so happy. He’d convinced me that after shooting the movie we could be together without hundreds of miles between us—yet my mind decided to wander against my will. 

In that moment, all that I was told by my peers of long distance relationships never working out were taken into consideration. Another girl. Another beautiful girl that made him choose her over me. Another beautiful girl in London. Another beautiful girl with Louis, somewhere so far away from me. 

My phone buzzed, it was a private text from Joaquin. My wandering mind was put at hold.

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** I’m sorry

I gulped, expecting something more like ‘Don’t listen to them’ or ‘They only talk crap’. Something that he would normally. But he didn’t. Almost as if he’d given up on covering the truth, even if it was for me. 

The reality was clear to me, but as I closed my eyes, I wished Joaquin would continue lying. If he could just tell me it’s not true, even if it was. Those limited days with Louis were my rock solid memories of happiness, and now they were stained.

I couldn’t bear typing anything other than why.  _ Why?  _ It didn’t matter if they did or didn’t know with who or when. I just wanted to know why. And yet again. There was silence on his end, and tears threatening to spill on mine. 

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** betts, it’s not my place to tell

**You :** bullshit

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** please betty. Ik you’re hurting but its best if you talk to him directly

**You :** so you knew ?

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** yeah

**You :** for how long

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** two days

**You :** and didn’t bother to tell me.

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** im sorry betts, you were just so happy with him, and I thought he’d tell you sooner or later.

**You :** you know that doesn’t justify it right.

**♥️** **Joaquin** **♥️** **:** yes. I know im asshole for that but

**You :** but what?! You couldn't tell me bcoz you didn’t want to see me upset. Fuck, so instead i find out from the school group. 

He doesn’t reply, but by now I'm raging. Gripping my phone case tighter than I should, the tears let out. It’s a mix of anger, frustration and sadness that left me feeling hollow. I waited for Louis to call, to text or at least acknowledge it. He’s in the class group chat and would have definitely seen it.

But he doesn’t call. 


	14. ACT TWO; PART THREE

Perhaps it was the hollow feeling in my chest slowly creeping to deeper depths of sadness that into being numb, or that my tears kept forming and spilling out of my eyes without my permission rather than coming to an end, or even maybe the not-so-subtle gossip that was going on about the big city boy who cheated on the small town girl, it was probably all of what which allowed me to give a name to this hurt; heartbreak. 

Well, a first heartbreak. Which made the feeling all the more foreign and painful. As if a dark shadow was cast over our memories turning them grey. 

I assumed this would be that moment when a mother talks to her daughter, telling the child about her first love, her first pain. I’d seen it in movies, but never thought much about it. It was only now when I wished I could have that conversation. I wished I could have someone tell me that I’ll find someone else, or It’ll all be okay in the end. But I didn’t.

I didn’t blame Joaquin for it, not one bit. He had too much going on on his own. In fact, the only time i could say I smiled, actually and honestly, this week when Joaquin told me that his parents would be moving away. You see, they were movie producers, and didn’t really have a very understanding relationship with their son. So I could see how them being away for months at a time would be good, until Joaquin could move out himself. 

But after that evening, things turned back to me alone in my room, lying on my bed listening to songs that I thought I could relate to yet none of them stood out to me. But then again, maybe it was because my mind was too preoccupied. Blocking out the thoughts of Inez’s smug remarks and all the ‘oohs’ and ‘she should’ve seen it coming’ were harder than I thought. 

I muffled the sound of my brothers and aunt below but putting on my headphones, listening to every cheating song I could find, letting the tears flow freely and trying to come to the conclusion that this was the end of a chapter in my life. 

I knew Louis, and was definitely not oblivious to his amazing acting. He was gonna be big someday, but it pained me knowing that I would soon be just a small memory to him. 

  
A small town girl.  _ His _ small town girl. But not anymore.


	15. ACT TWO; PART FOUR

It was Friday night when I decided I’d had enough of it. Perhaps it was what Aunt Abigail had said to me, ‘better people will find their way into your life’ or that I was just sick of crying in my room, thinking about all the things we had yet to do together. We never had those piano sessions we talked about. And I never got to hear him sing. But it just didn’t matter anymore.

I guess listening to ‘no tears left to cry’ by Ariana Grande really had an effect, huh. 

My phone, as for the previous few weeks, had been ringing and buzzing almost constantly but I hadn’t responded to anyone yet, except Joaquin. The rumors and gossip had died down a bit, just as Joaquin had told me, but I doubted anyone would forget it completely soon enough.

I found myself suddenly being grateful that it was the summer holidays and I didn’t have to show my face to school everyday. But still, going out for walks everyday made me nervous. It felt weird, knowing that I had just promised myself that I was over it. Over everything, Louis, the tears, the gossip and  _ especially  _ spending my nights wondering about this girl who made Louis chose her over me. 

There was also this weird sense of uncertainty. Louis and I still hadn’t talked. For the first week that I knew, he didn’t call and I-on the brink of tears-waited for hours on end for his name to show up on my phone but then when just last week he did, I didn’t want to answer. He must have definitely got the hint, but it felt weird for me to say that I was over him if we technically hadn’t broken up yet.

With my mind still heavy on that, I filled up my water bottle and headed out the door for a walk across the town. The realisation had dawned on me a couple days so that I had spent so much time locked in my room, dwelling on what had happened that I forgot to enjoy the simple things of life. So, today, like the past few days, I went on a small walk through town.

Thinking about Louis with another girl definitely did hurt, but I chose not to. Instead, I tried to spend the evening really appreciating my surroundings. Emphasis on  _ tried.  _

The creek was hard to avoid. Normally, it would be the place I’d want to visit most. But nowadays, everything there felt like him. Almost as if his ghost was still lingering there. It took a lot of self-control for me to not go over there right now and reminiscence of our time there together. Back then it all felt so...perfect.

And what made everything worse was that my 17th birthday was next week. I’d looked forward to this for so long, and had it all planned out in my head too. A party, Louis and me, Joaquin and Issie. It was supposed to be the _ best  _ birthday party I’d ever had, you only turn seventeen once. But now, thinking about it was the last of my concerns. 

The sun had set a while back, and I didn't seem to have noticed. I hurried back home, hoping my aunt would let it slip as she did the past few times. As I walked up to my front porch steps, I was about to open the door when I turned to the left to see Joaquin lightly swinging on the porch swing.

He turned to me with his lopsided grin. He folded his arms, imitating my aunt. “Late again, Betty.” He sighed and nodded his head disapprovingly as I giggled. I went ahead and sat next to him. 

“You went to the creek?” he then asked softly.

I shaked my head, “No,” and looked up at the orange-pink sky which was slowly turning indigo before our eyes. “I wanted to, but no.”

“Did he call you?” 

“Yeah, thrice actually, but I didn’t answer.”

“He, uh, called me too.” He turned to face me. “Asked me to tell you he needed to talk.”

I scoffed, “What did you say.”

“That you’ll talk to him when you want to, which was unlikely any time soon” A grin found his way back onto his lips. “And then I hung up on him.”

I chuckled. “Thanks.”

We were there in silence for a while, admiring the moon that was nearly in view.

“You think I’ll get over him?” I asked

“Depends,” he shrugged. “Do you love him?”

I sighed. “I don’t know.”

_ I don’t know _


End file.
